"This area here will have a fountain and a mini-park. The proposal for this project had already been approved by the board of directors. If you want, I can hand it to you anytime," Liam said as he side-eyed Lily Qin. If it were not for his father and mother, he would never come here to follow her around.
Initially, he expected her to decline this arrangement and cause a fuss. Who would have imagined that she would accept the offer and treat him as a mere business associate? Had she forgotten that they were engaged until a week ago?
"No need. I am not interested in this project." He heard Lily mutter next to him. He stared at her for a moment before he responded.
"But this will attract customers..." he was about to retort when Lily turned her head towards him. She gave him her signature smile, almost making him curse in annoyance.
"I am not interested in a park, Mr. Arison. Thank you for the generous offer though," she said before turning her gaze towards the space in front of them. It would be a waste to turn the spot into a park. Lily could not help but shake her head in dismay. No wonder the Arisons had been losing money. Their CEO was incapable of recognizing the potential of that space.
A.R Mall and Boutique lay in the middle of the city. However, the Arisons did not realize its tremendous potential. What a waste. Good thing, she was able to acquire this property at a reasonable price.
Sometimes, Lily could not help but pat herself on the back. If she hadn’t been smart enough to make this acquisition plan when the proposal for engagement arrived, she would have declined the proposal for marriage there and then and cut ties with that worthless person.
While Lily Qin was praising her cunningness inwardly, Liam Arison was already fuming, eyes shooting daggers her way. How dare this woman insult the project he painstakingly planned?
Sensing his escalating rage, Liam’s secretary approached him and offered him a bottle of water. The latter took the water bottle without saying anything. He then drank a mouthful of water and gave it back to his secretary before clenching his fist. At this moment he seemed to have realized that she had not even spare a glance his way. She was intentionally ignoring him!
"I think we should talk about what happened," he thought out loud after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"About what?" Lily asked before accepting a folder from Yang Mi. "Ah, Mr. Arison. I don’t think I have the time to discuss such matters. We should part ways. I still have a lot of things to do," she said before turning away from him.
"Lily!" Liam grabbed her arm to stop her. "I’m unsure why you are doing this, but I am unwilling to give up on our engagement. If you want, I could break up with my girlfriend. This marriage is profitable for both families. I want you to think about it again."
"Eh?" Lily raised an eyebrow at him. She had thought that Liam wanted to talk about the park and had, therefore, instantly declined and wanted to part ways, not wanting to explain how laughable his idea was.
So he was thinking about the canceled engagement and not the project. Lily grew more amused by the minute.
"Mr. Arison," she started, eyeing her secretary and some directors that were accompanying them on this visit. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was intentionally spewing these words in front of her subordinates to pressure her to agree to talk to him. Did he think that she would get uncomfortable and ask for him to settle this matter in private?
With this in mind, Lily smiled at the man in front of her before tugging at her arm, causing him to let go. "You are the one in a relationship with your cousin when we were still engaged. I am not only disgusted by you but also angry. Did the Arison family think they could bully me because my grandmother passed away?"
Liam’s eyes widened when he heard Lily Qin’s words. He initially thought that she would hold back her and ask to talk to him in private. He had never thought that she would lay everything out in the open. Wasn’t she afraid that people would think she was incompetent and that’s why her fiancé cheated on her?
He watched as Lily leaned in closer to his face.
The smile on her face seemed to have become broader; the sparkle in her eyes had become prominent. However, this did not make him feel any better. For some reason, this smile gave him goosebumps. It was as if a highly deadly predator was looking at him. He wondered if this was the infamous grin people around Europe spoke about.
"Don’t provoke me again." She patted his shoulders as if trying to remove the dust on it. "Or else, I will bring down the whole Arison family with you." Her sharp words were said with such sweetness that Liam felt his throat burn. It was the first time he had seen Lily Qin in this light, and to say that it didn’t put the fear of a higher entity in him would be a lie.
At this point, Liam saw Lily as someone so scary that he could stop his body from trembling.